


Warmth

by idvko



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, ESO round 3, Established Relationship, M/M, prompt: "recordings"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 11:36:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20173609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idvko/pseuds/idvko
Summary: "Ahh. This feeling was warm."Nazuna uncovers a nostalgic surprise in the depths of his and Eichi's closet in the midst of a spring-cleaning rampage.It's been almost ten years already, huh?





	Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for ESO round 3! Or rather, it was a bit of an aimless idea I had floating around in my mind for a while, but the ESO prompt gave me the direction it needed.
> 
> The prompt was "memories/recordings"
> 
> This is just a bunch of very soft, very self-indulgent domestic fluff. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> As always, my twitter is @supreme_kye if u wanna yell me way.

“What’s all this?” Eichi asked, maneuvering around a pile of trash bags thrown haphazardly in their apartment’s foyer and almost blocking the front door. He slipped out of his shoes with a sigh of relief, noting that the air seemed different. Thicker, perhaps. And carrying a smell that reminded him of the hospital.

He sneezed.

“Welcome home~” a voice called from inside, and a moment later Nazuna appeared. His bangs were held back in a bandanna and his clothes were covered in dust and hair, sleeves rolled up almost to his shoulders. His face seemed a little flushed and he could see sweat sparkling on his neck. 

He seemed bright though, Eichi noted. Energetic. Eager. Nazuna was the kind of person who thrived when he was working, after all. 

“I wasn’t aware we were having an open house,” Eichi said, feigning thoughtfulness as he set his bag down on the bench beside the door and hung up his coat. “I haven’t even called the real estate agent yet.”

“Idiot,” Nazuna quipped instantly, easily moving around the trash bags and getting up on his tiptoes to kiss him.

“I’m cleaning.” 

“Clearly. For what occasion?”

Nazuna shrugged. “Just cuz.”

Eichi frowned. “‘Just cuz?’” He repeated incredulously.

Nazuna stuck out his tongue at Eichi’s evident incomprehension, before turning and disappearing down the hall, back from where he’d appeared. “The weather’s finally getting nice again, so it made me feel restless y’know?” He tossed back over his shoulder as an explanation. “And since I don’t have work for a couple of days I figured ‘why not?’”

“How admirable,” Eichi replied dryly, following his fiancée carefully and watching his feet to make sure he didn’t trip on any of the new obstructions filling the hallway. Nazuna was in their shared bedroom, although it was hardly recognizable under the amount of clothes and books and furniture that had been pulled out of their hiding places and put out on display, a discordant collection of nostalgia and dust. 

Eichi sneezed again.

“You should see some of the stuff I’ve found,” Nazuna said from where he was rummaging through their walk-in closet. Eichi picked up one of the stage costumes that had been thrown across the bed, turning it this way and that to admire it. 

“I haven’t worn this in years,” he said in wonder. “I really used to be this small?”

Nazuna hummed thoughtfully without turning around. “You were more sickly back then. It’s only to be expected.”

He continued to sort through the closet, the stacks the miscellaneous photo albums and boxes growing with each new discovery. But Eichi couldn’t tear his gaze away from the clothing in his hands - the soft sheen of satin seemed to captivate him, for more reasons than just its regal appearance and expert workmanship.

“It’s been almost ten years already, hasn’t it?” The words escaped his lips before he even realized he was speaking his thoughts out loud.

Nazuna stopped for a moment. Eichi wasn’t sure if he was going to respond — he might have carried on as if the question was rhetorical, which Eichi wouldn’t have minded — but then he spoke.

“I guess you’re right.” He said slowly, his hands resting on the top of the cardboard box he’d been about to pull out from the farthest corner of their closet. “It doesn’t feel like it.” After a pause he bent over to resume his work, wiping dust from the top of it and then immediately grimacing once he realized it was coating his hands now. He wiped them off on his pants impatiently. “I wonder if anyone will organize a reunion or anything.”

That coaxed a small laugh from his partner. He set the stage costume back down on the bed, careful to lay it as flat as he could. “You realize the two people most likely to organize one are us, right?”

“Hmm~” Nazuna mused with a smile. “You’ve got a point there. What _is_ this?”

He was studying the box with an incredulous look. Eichi leaned back a bit to finally get a good look at it. His eyes widened a bit as he took in the ratty battered exterior, the start of a tear at one of the bottom corners. It was certainly familiar, but he’d completely forgotten about it until this moment.

“Oh. That’s mine.” He offered vaguely as he stepped behind Nazuna to examine it over his shoulder. The scrawl across the top of the box was certainly his, but it was hardly legible, clearly written in a rush. Even now, he wasn’t sure exactly what it said - only the years “2014-2015” stood out from the mess of loopy black sharpie.

“But what _is_ it?” Nazuna repeated, prying the top of the box apart curiously. 

It was only about half full, filled only with dozens of discs in nondescript clear cases. The only indication of what they might be was the Yumenosaki crest printed across the top of each disc, with the same years written below. Eichi’s writing adorned each disc as well, scrawled along the edge of each one.

“Ah!” Nazuna exclaimed suddenly, sounding as though he’d just realized something. “The Student Council’s secrets? Am I going to become a target now that I’ve seen them?”

Eichi simply chuckled in response as he slowly knelt down to his knees beside Nazuna. The smaller boy shifted over slightly, giving him room to sift through the contents of the box himself. The discs themselves all looked identical - his own labels were the only thing that differentiated them.

“Spring S1,” “Circus live”, “DDD”...

“They’re our concerts,” Nazuna said, his voice dropping a bit in realization as Eichi pulled one out and lifted it into the light to examine it. They looked almost brand new, despite having been stuffed in a box and left in the corner of their closet for the four years they had lived in the apartment.

“Where did you get them?” Nazuna asked curiously, taking the disc and turning it over in his hands when Eichi offered it to him. “The broadcasting committee recorded them all, sure. But I never heard about them being burned onto discs.”

Eichi hummed thoughtfully, sounding a little melancholy in his response.

“It was a little passion project of the student council that never saw the light of day, I suppose. I had thought we could use them in lieu of a yearbook, so that we could all look back at what we had achieved over the year. But with SS taking precedence, none of us could get organized enough to compile the footage and mass produce them. So all I have is the raw unedited footage.”

Nazuna glanced sideways at him. He knew Eichi well enough by now to know that he was being a little evasive. By “the student council’s” passion project he almost certainly meant it had been his own. Nazuna had his own guesses as to why. Eichi’s condition had been so unstable back then, his future so uncertain. It was natural that he had wanted some reminder that he had been able to live his dreams of being an idol, even if it was only for those short fleeting years.

Luckily such morbid premeditation hadn’t be necessary.

“It’s a good idea~” was all he said, hoping those few words were enough.

Eichi held out his hand for the disc and Nazuna returned it. He glanced down at it for another moment before gingerly placing it back into the box.

“Perhaps,” was all he said in response. 

Nazuna gave an indignant huff at his downcast tone, lightly jabbing an elbow into his side. The younger man made a surprised yelp and glared down at him, brows drawn together in confusion more than actual hurt.

“The Eichi I know wouldn’t give up on such a good idea after one little setback.” Nazuna scolded. “Who cares that it’s a bit late? It’s easy enough to compile the footage and fix the audio ourselves — and blank DVD’s are easy to come by.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in, and Nazuna took in Eichi’s wide-eyed look of realization with a sense of smug satisfaction.

“Nazu-“

“Besides,” he continued with a meaningful wink. “Wouldn’t they be just the kind of thing you’d expect to get at a high school reunion?”

A soft silence fell upon the two of them, Nazuna stubbornly refusing to look away from Eichi’s questioning eyes, as if challenging him to argue. At last, Eichi’s expression melted into a soft smile and his shoulder drooped as he visibly relaxed.

if there was something Eichi thought Nazuna had an uncanny knack for, it was his ability to dispel tension. He would deny it of course — the modest man he was — saying his lack of eloquence made it hard for him to form words of encouragement and comfort. But Eichi had learned after their years dating and living together that Nazuna didn’t need words when his intentions were portrayed in each of his expressions, his minute gestures. It wasn’t that he simply said he cared — it was that he actually did, and it permeated through everything he said and did.

“You’re serious about that?” Eichi asked, hoping his fondness wasn’t dripping into his voice even though he felt as though it was filling him up to the point of bursting at the seams.

Nazuna made a noise of affirmation, finally looking away to turn his attention back to the box. He rested his fingers along the edge, seeming to consider the contents again.

“Why don’t we watch some of these?” Nazuna suggested. “I could use a break now that you’re home.”

Eichi chuckled a bit under his breath, that fondness continuing to spread through his chest. “Are you making excuses to cuddle up to me? Slacker~”

Nazuna glanced over with an equally mischievous smile. “Maybe I am. I think I’ve earned it.”

Eichi raised his eyebrows, glancing over his shoulder at the stacks of boxes and furniture littered across their bedspread and floor. “Is that so? It looks like you’ve made more of a mess, though…”

Nazuna smacked his thigh with the back of his hand and Eichi laughed. 

“Pick one out then,” Eichi prompted, gesturing towards the box. Nazuna picked through them carefully, lifting each one to eye level, sometimes having to squint a bit to decipher Eichi’s writing.

Eichi noticed him stop a bit when he picked up one labelled “S2 - Akatsuki & Ra*bits”. Of course it was innocently mixed in with the others, but Eichi still felt a pang of guilt in his chest at seeing it. That live had happened while he had been in the hospital, and he had only been able to see it through recordings. Back then, detached as he was, he had seen the audience clear out after Akatsuki’s performance and responded with nothing more than an obligatory “It’s a shame.” The kind of vague sentiment you would say when a celebrity you knew only by name passed away. “It’s a shame”, but nothing more.

It struck him then that there were a lot of visceral memories attached to these recordings. Victories and defeats and deep-seated grudges and life-changing friendships. Even thinking about it now, he was almost reliving the swirling pit of bitter and sweet emotions that had accompanied him through high school. He wondered if Nazuna was feeling the same way, but the only outward indication of this thoughts was the slightest furrow of his brow.

The moment lasted just slightly too long though, and Eichi was starting to second-guess this idea. He opened his mouth to say something — “Maybe we should find something else to do” — when Nazuna finally set it back down without comment and picked up the next one.

The inch of space between them still felt heavy and tense, but Nazuna spoke up bravely, his voice only slightly forced as he said “Ah~ you have a recording of DDD, too? That sure brings back memories.”

The mood lightened slightly, just as it always did when Nazuna spoke, and Eichi was immensely relieved for it.

“Oh?” Red eyes widened as he pulled out another disc. “The Tatabana festival live is in here as well? Maybe we should watch that?” There was a bit of a teasing note in Nazuna’s voice and Eichi caught onto it immediately. He frowned a little, sighing dramatically.

“DDD and Tanabata? Are you really so insistent on watching me lose?” The question ended in an audible pout, and Nazuna burst out laughing, rocking sideways into Eichi’s side and nearly knocking him over in his clumsy show of affection.

“Of course not,” he assured him warmly, pressing a light kiss to his shoulder.

\--

Ahh. This feeling was warm. That comfortable fondness was unfurling and blossoming in his chest again, spreading outward to his skin and making him feel tingly and warm. It was as though time had stopped — as though the world only existed for the two of them.

It had been a frightening feeling the first time, when he had been lying awake in bed with Nazuna asleep beside him. It had been about two months after moving in together, and it had been a routine work night, so they had both tumbled into bed with nothing more than a few chaste kisses and murmurs of “I love you,” before settling in for the night.

But he could feel Nazuna’s warmth beside him, just as he had every night for two months — _two months_, and even that in itself felt like a dream. His chest had twisted strangely and silent tears had leaked from his eyes.

He felt so warm. Almost sick with that fluttering sweltering warmth. He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face, nor the soft choking laugh that echoed through their room. And it was the realization that he had achieved everything a bitter and sickly sixteen year old boy had thought wasn’t his to have — to even dream of — that filled him with such warmth.

\--

They had settled on watching the succession of SS live shows — it seemed safe to start with an event that featured units other than their own, lest they somehow find a way to make a competition out of something they already knew the outcome of. Plus, Nazuna hadn’t had a chance to see many of the lives himself, seeing as he had been working on club and unit preparations during most of the winter break, and since some of the less publicized events had been broadcast at inconvenient times of the day.

“You might be interested to know that a lot of this footage is from CosPro,” Eichi mused as he slid the disc into the DVD player in their living room. “For the most part it’s fine, but they played a bit with the camera work and editing to make Trickstar look less appealing to a broader audience.”

Nazuna nodded eagerly, already settled on the couch in his pyjamas with a blanket over his knees. Although he hadn’t pursued professional work in it, he still often played around with recording equipment as a hobby.

Boxes of takeout were piled up on the low table. With Nazuna having worked on the house all day and Eichi having stayed late at work, neither of them had felt up to the task of cooking — not that Nazuna completely trusted his fiancée in the kitchen yet in the first place. Nazuna was already digging into a fold-up box of fried rice as Eichi finally stood up and adjusted the TV channels until the footage was on the screen. He settled in beside Nazuna, pressed almost obnoxiously close to his side and glancing down at him expectantly. The small blonde man rolled his eyes in response, but still plunged his chopsticks into the box meaningfully and offered a large chunk of rice to Eichi.

It took awhile for the footage to really become interesting — it had already been cut to include only Trickstar’s performances prior to being burned onto the disc, but even then many of the earlier matches had been against idol groups from smaller schools who couldn’t quite compare to Trickstar’s passion and energy. The matches at this point were repetitive and the results were obvious, and Nazuna and Eichi spoke through most of it, their conversation ranging from commentary on the footage to how each of their respective days had been. 

By the time the footage had moved onto the qualifying rounds, the food had almost entirely been devoured and they had slowly shifted positions so that Eichi was nestled into Nazuna’s side, his head resting on his chest and his blanket pulled up to his chin.

“They look like they’re getting tired,” Nazuna observed, absentmindedly threading his fingers through Eichi’s hair.

“That was one of the challenges that came with the design of SS,” Eichi explained. “Taking part in consecutive battles wasn’t the only — or necessarily the best — way to advance, but if the chance came up and the result could be beneficial, it would be foolish not to.” Nazuna glanced down at him as he spoke. His expression was neutral, but his eyes were focused and hardly blinking. Flashing images reflecting off of his pale blue irises like mirrors, creating an illusion of something more mechanical than human. Eichi always seemed to get like this whenever some sort of strategy was involved. Whether it was recounting the last history book he’d blown through, looking over financial reports for work or planning out their anniversary date night, it wasn’t uncommon for him to become overly focused on the logistics of things. Planning how everything would play out.

Normally, his focus was a quality Nazuna found admirable — especially since Nazuna himself could be reckless and short-sighted when it came to any sort of planning. But they had started watching these recordings as a means to relax, and it seemed silly to exert himself thinking about the outcome of an event that had concluding nine years ago. He ruffled Eichi’s hair a bit, causing him to look up curiously.

“You’re looking a little intense,” he explained. Eichi’s blinked slowly in realization, and let out a soft yawn as he stretched, perhaps not realizing how tense he’d become over the course of the last few live battles. He snuggled in closer.

“‘M sorry,” he acknowledged, adjusting himself so that his head rested on Nazuna’s thigh and he was now looking sideways at the screen. “Everything turned out favourably for us, but I still think about all of the possible ways it could have gone sometimes. Even if I know the answer in this reality, I can’t help but wonder.”

“Mm,” Nazuna murmured wordlessly in understanding, gently kneading the pads of his fingers into Eichi’s scalp. “I can’t exactly blame you for that, then. I do the same thing, after all.”

He could tell Eichi was fading quickly — he wasn’t sure he would make it through the final live between Trickstar and Eden. But the nice thing about a recording was that they could at least finish it later.

Another live battle later, and Eichi’s breathing was starting to deepen. When Nazuna glanced over, his eyes had slid shut, his bangs falling over his face. Nazuna was prepared to leave him like that until the end of the battle, until he was nearly scared out of his skin by Eichi suddenly lifting his head with a sharp gasp, his eyes wide. Perhaps his body had shocked itself back into consciousness, Nazuna thought, but only a few minutes passed before his eyes were fluttering closed again. This ritual of head bobbing repeated a few times before Nazuna finally spoke up, gently rubbing Eichi’s shoulder.

“Eichi?”

He made a grunt of acknowledgement and shifted at the sound of his name, blinking blearily. “Mmm?”

“Why don’t we finish another time?” he suggested softly, brushing long bangs from his eyes. “You’re tired, and there’s work tomorrow.”

“Mm.” He didn’t look like he intended to move. Nazuna tugged a little at his arms, but Eichi stayed fastened in place.

“Eichi,” he repeated, his voice dropping a bit as he took on a more firm tone. “Let’s go to bed, alright?”

“‘Sa buncha stuff on the bed,” came the taller man’s muffled response.

Ah. Right. Nazuna flushed a little as he realized — he hadn’t cleared out any of the clutter from their room before they’d decided to start watching the SS recording, meaning their bed was currently buried under layers of junk and dust. He’d probably have to clean all of the bed covers and sheets, even after the contents of their closet had been cleared out or put back in place.

Nazuna let out an unenthusiastic groan and leaned back into the couch, which Eichi took as an invitation to snuggle in close again, huffing a quiet chuckle at Nazuna’s reaction.

“Wait a second,” Nazuna said before Eichi could get too comfortable.

He readjusted himself, pulling a pillow under his head and laying down on his back. He beckoned Eichi over and the younger man easily laid himself down on top of him, his body fitting between Nazuna’s legs and his head resting against his chest. 

One of Nazuna’s hands migrated to his hair again, rubbing slow rhythmic circles into the base of his head.

Eichi nodded off quickly, and Nazuna could feel his chest rising and falling against his stomach. The steadiness of his breathing, the subconscious rhythm of his fingers in Eichi’s hair, was starting to lull him into sleep as well. 

He would regret letting Eichi lie on top of him like this when Eichi's phone blared with his morning alarm. He would regret it when he awoke with aches in his back and soreness in the leg pinned between Eichi’s body and the couch. But he found it hard to mind now, with that soft fluttering warmth filling his chest as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness.


End file.
